Archive for July, 2010

One of my readers has kindly informed me
that the Gram Parsons Tribute Concert (Gram
National) WILL, after all, be held in Nashville
(and the Boston area) this year.

He wrote:

To clarify, Gram National 2010 will be held in two cities, Nashville and Boston. The Boston event is to commemorate 45 years since Gram began it all there. The Nashville event will be held once again at The 5 Spot; booked so far: Allen Thompson, The Gram Band, and Derek Hoke, much more to come. Gram National director Will James will be in Boston; I will be managing things for him in Nashville.

Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective. As I told ‘The Tennessean’ in 2008, “since moving to Nashville twenty-five years ago, I have met people whose lives do not remotely reflect the caricature of what many outside our city presume to be a ‘Nashvillian’ or the Nashville experience.” “Underground Nashville” thus explores the soul of the city, not its surface—offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

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Middle Tennessee was devastated in May by flooding from which it will take months—in some cases years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.com of calling 800-725-2769. Thank you.

After my recent posting about the Gram Parsons Tribute Concert likely skipping Nashville this year, I received confirmation about this from one of my readers. She told me the concert this year will be held in the Boston area, and that the connection (as even some Gram Parsons fans may not realize) is that Gram attended Harvard for a year.

A quick check of the event’s web site—myspace.com/myster_jones (note underscore between “myster” and “jones”)—offers more detail. The event will be held in the Precinct Bar in Union Square, Somerville, Massachusetts (adjacent to Boston), at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 5, Gram Parsons’ birthday.

Once again, the concert seems to be featuring artists and bands from all over the country and, indeed, the world. Particularly noteworthy is that Lynda Lucas from Dublin, Ireland—who dazzled us at The 5 Spot in East Nashville last year with her evocative, heart-felt renditions of some of Gram’s songs—is scheduled to play the Boston-area event.

Let me repeat my “memo” from my last posting to Nashville club owners and bookers: If you want a sure-fire-hit night at your club, pick up the pieces of this idea and put on your own Gram Parsons Tribute Concert on or around September 19 (the anniversary of Gram’s death) or November 5. More than any other city on earth, Nashville boasts people who “get” Gram Parsons . . . and, trust me, you’ll have a crowd there.

David M. (Dave) Carew is editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and copywriter.

Editor’s Note: “Underground Nashville” covers artists, authors, musicians, poets, political figures, and other compelling people and happenings not typically covered by the mainstream Nashville media. It also presents reflections and commentary from an underground/indie perspective. As I told ‘The Tennessean’ in 2008, “since moving to Nashville twenty-five years ago, I have met people whose lives do not remotely reflect the caricature of what many outside our city presume to be a ‘Nashvillian’ or the Nashville experience.” “Underground Nashville” thus explores the soul of the city, not its surface—offering “thoughts from the shadows of a great American city.”

Dave Carew

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Middle Tennessee was devastated in May by flooding from which it will take months—in some cases years—to recover. Please join the recovery effort by contacting Hands on Nashville at Hon.org or by calling (in Nashville) 211. Otherwise, please call 800-318-9355. You can also support The Salvation Army’s relief efforts by going to Salarmy-Nashville.com of calling 800-725-2769. Thank you.

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Gram Parsons Tribute Concert Likely to Skip Nashville This Year

By Dave Carew

I’ve just received word from sources close to the event that the annual Gram Parsons Tribute Concert—which last September 19 drew a massive crowd to The 5 Spot—likely will not return to Nashville this year. My sources tell me they believe the event will be held in Philadelphia (which has absolutely no connection to Gram Parsons), but that piece of information could not be immediately confirmed.

For the past two years, I’ve served as pro bono publicist for this concert, so I was very disappointed to hear the event won’t take place in Nashville this year. But—my feeling aside—it’s actually a greater loss for music fans here . . . who last year were treated to outstanding performances from Dublin, Ireland’s Lynda Lucas, Chris James’ The Gram Band, Walter Egan’s Burrito Deluxe, and a host of others.

Memo to Nashville club owners and bookers: If you want a sure-fire-hit night at your club, pick up the pieces of this idea and put on your own Gram Parsons Tribute Concert on or around September 19 (the anniversary of Gram’s death) or even November 5, Gram’s birthday. More than any other city on earth, Nashville boasts people who “get” Gram Parsons . . . and, trust me, you’ll have a crowd there.

David M. (Dave) Carew is editor of “Underground Nashville” and the author of the novels “Everything Means Nothing to Me: A Novel of Underground Nashville” and “Voice from the Gutter.” He also is a freelance book editor, publicist, and copywriter.